


Nothing situate under heaven's eye

by ExultedShores



Series: You may be loved to the point of madness [2]
Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But Alexi still dies we can't have everything, Fix-It, Happy Ending, Low Chaos (Dishonored), Low Chaos Emily Kaldwin, M/M, Theodanis lives, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-05-19 13:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14874779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExultedShores/pseuds/ExultedShores
Summary: Theodanis Abele all but gave up hope on ever curing Aramis of his insanity. He never expected a solution to arrive in the form of Empress Emily Kaldwin.AU in which Theodanis Abele is still alive in 1852.





	1. I

Emily Kaldwin is really sick and tired of all this supernatural oxshit.

The past few weeks she’s gotten used to yanking herself up to impossible heights by a tendril of the Void, literally becoming one with the shadows, and linking the fates of two separate beings together as if she were a God.

And now she can’t do any of it anymore.

“Voiddammit,” she curses as she tries, and fails, to see through the walls of Stilton Manor for the fourth time. “What is wrong with this place?”

The whole house thumps with a twisted force, unmistakably leaking from the Void yet feeling so incredibly _wrong_. It drains her very energy, cancels out her otherworldly abilities. Whatever happened here, whatever Delilah did, it’s pure evil, tainting everything in its reach.

She can’t wait to get out.

But she has to find out how Delilah immortalised herself first, if she ever wants to regain her throne and free her father from his stone prison.

Emily takes a deep breath, steels herself, and walks through the front door.

The smell of decay is strong enough to make her gag, and she almost trips over the broken chandelier that crashed into the floor years ago. The foyer looks as though it may have been beautiful once, but now it is nothing but a mess, everything covered in a layer of dust so thick it puts the adjacent Dust District to shame.

Emily creeps forward, the clear dilapidation of the house doing nothing to alleviate her anxiety. Every creak of the stairs sends a new shiver up her spine, and she tightens her hold on the hilt of her father’s folding sword until her knuckles turn white and her muscles tremble from the exertion.

She nearly screams when she hears voices coming from below, drifting up through a hole in the rotten floor.

“Aramis, please. You have to eat.”

It’s a man’s voice, sounding tired and frustrated, but also gentle, and soft.

“Poison!” another voice shrieks, madness evident in every syllable. “They’ll poison him, they will! I won’t be an accomplice. I refuse!”

The sound of a slap, and then of a plate hitting the floor and shattering. The first man sighs. “Drink something at least, amante,” he tries, and Emily hears water being poured. “For me?”

There’s a long, drawn-out silence. “Of course,” the second man says then, his voice suddenly kind, and completely sane. “Anything for you, Theo.”

Emily can see them now, a red-haired, scruffy man drinking deeply from the cup offered to him by a greying gentleman. She recognises Aramis Stilton from the picture Meagan showed her, but the other has his back to her, and his voice is foreign.

The unknown man breathes in shakily, not letting go of Aramis’ hand even as he puts away the cup. “Aramis,” he says, “do you know who I am?”

Aramis laughs. “I don’t think it’s possible to forget you, Theodanis.”

Emily nearly falls over. Theodanis, as in Theodanis _Abele_ , former Duke of Serkonos?

Theodanis reaches out to comb some of Aramis’ wild hair from his eyes, and cups his cheek. “I love you,” he says firmly, intensely, and Emily suddenly feels as if she is intruding on a very private moment. “Please, always remember that.”

“Until my last breath,” Aramis replies with just as much conviction, leaning into Theodanis’ touch. “I will adore you forever, in this world and the one beyond.”

Emily feels her heart clench at the sight, and she looks away when the men embrace, knowing she isn’t meant to witness this.

Then she hears a screech that’s almost inhuman, and she whips her head around to see Aramis push Theodanis away so violently the other man falls to the ground, landing hard amidst the shards of the plate that was smashed there earlier.

“I’m going to claw your tongue right out of your head!” Aramis screams in fury, eyes bulging madly.

Theodanis picks himself up from the floor, wincing as he removes a piece of porcelain from his bleeding palm. “No, you’re not,” he says, more calmly than anyone should be in the face of a madman. “What will your guests think?”

“My guests!” Aramis gasps, all aggression gone from his body in an instant. “I must prepare! They mustn’t see me in this state!”

He scurries off towards the piano in the middle of the roof, crawling underneath the bench while muttering endlessly to himself about appearances and proper decorum. Theodanis runs his non-injured hand through his thinning hair and sighs, and Emily didn’t know a simple exhale could sound so heartbreaking.

He kneels to pick up the shards of the plate and the now ruined food, depositing them back at the doorway for the Howlers to take with them when they come to bring the next meal. Emily follows his movements, trying to recall what Callista taught her about the old Duke’s reign, and failing miserably. But she does remember Corvo telling her that Theodanis Abele was kind to him even though he came from the poor Batista District, and that he was a fair and just ruler.

Emily knows, instinctively, that he’ll help her, if not because he’s kind, then because Delilah obviously destroyed his life as much as she did hers.

She drops down the hole, landing with a soft thud on the surprisingly clean stone below.

Theodanis whirls around at the sound, eyes widening when he sees Emily straighten up and casually dust some filth off her jacket. “What in the Void…?”

“Apologies for the unannounced visit,” Emily says formally, pulling down the scarf covering the lower half of her face. “I couldn’t find time to make an appointment.”

She can see recognition in his eyes, and once the shock has worn off, he bows before her. “Empress,” he addresses her, and it’s the first time she’s heard her title used respectfully since she was dethroned. “To what do I owe the honour?”

“I’m no more an Empress than you are a Duke, regrettably,” she says, “so I was hoping we might speak candidly.”

Theodanis smiles at her, tired but earnest. “Of course. What can I do for you?”

“I want my Empire back,” Emily states firmly. “But I can’t until I find out what happened here, in this place, three years ago.”

He nods slowly, face contemplative. “The Void is strong in this house,” he says, chuckling when he sees her eyebrows shoot up. “I’ve lived here for two odd years now, Empress. I couldn’t feel it, not at first, but over time it got difficult to ignore.”

“You’re living here?” she asks, surprised.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“Why?”

“Because Aramis is here,” Theodanis says simply, smiling sadly at the sight of Aramis frantically dusting off the piano bench. “And I love him.”

Emily swallows thickly, wondering if she could have done what he’s doing, if she could have stayed with Alexi if she’d gone mad like Aramis has. She likes to think she would. But then she’ll never know, because Alexi is lost to her forever. Because of Delilah, and Luca Abele.

“Why did you abdicate?” she asks, anger burning hot just underneath her skin. “Your son ruined this Isle, ruined everything you worked for. How could you not have known what a bastard he is?!”

Theodanis’ smile doesn’t waver. “I knew, Empress. I didn’t want to leave Serkonos to Luca, didn’t want to watch him break down everything I had built. But my son made it very clear that I was to disappear, or he would make it so,” he says evenly, though Emily can tell it hurts him still. “He could have, easily. In the end, most of my guards were more loyal to him than they were to me, because I was preoccupied ever since… this.”

He gestures at their surroundings, gaze lingering on Aramis. “It’s just as well,” he whispers. “I did some good things in my time, but the last few years I was a failure as a Duke. I let down my wife, my sons, my people. I let down Aramis.”

There are tears in his eyes, and Emily feels her stomach lurch at the sight. Here’s a man who tried his hardest to be good to his people, who had his life ruined by Delilah just as badly as she had, and he still believes he could have done more, should have done more. How can she have the guile to be cross with him when she’s never even tried to be a proper Empress, when she always cared more about her own desires than those of her people?

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles, eyes cast down in shame. “I shouldn’t have – you tried your best. And none of this is your fault. It’s Delilah’s, and mine. But I’m going to fix it as best I can.”

Theodanis shakes his head, but then Aramis bangs down on the piano’s keys, and Emily flinches at the unexpected sound. If only she could fix his broken mind too. “Theodanis, I need to know what happened here three years ago.”

The old Duke sighs heavily. “I’m not entirely sure, Empress. I know Luca had something to do with it, and I suppose our new sovereign as well. All I can tell you is that the feel of the Void is strongest near the study,” he explains. “I haven’t been able to get into that room since I moved in here. To be honest, I didn’t really want to.”

“So how do I get in there?”

Theodanis opens his mouth to reply, and then he just… freezes in place, completely.

“Three years ago,” an all-too familiar voice says from across the room, “something inside Aramis Stilton snapped like a cheap lock.”

Emily whirls around to see the Outsider lounging on the piano, regarding Aramis with the apathetic expression she’s come to expect from him. “I know that,” she says crossly, stepping towards him. “Theodanis told me all he could.”

“Yes, he did,” the Outsider affirms rather uselessly. “Theodanis Abele has endured more in his life than most men would be able to handle, and yet he is still able to trust a virtual stranger who comes in with a promise to fix the things he could not.”

“It’s my mess to clean up,” Emily says. “Not his.”

The Outsider cocks his head, seeming pleased with her determination. “Take this,” he says, and from thin air appears a peculiar contraption that’s as obviously Void-made as the Heart she carries with her. “Imagine it’s a kind of timepiece.”

Emily takes the object, examining it curiously as a set of lenses flips out, like the wings of a dragonfly. “Go, and watch the Duke and Delilah,” the Outsider implores. “And if you can, fix what they broke.”

And then he vanishes, before Emily can even begin to wonder what he meant, and Theodanis makes a strangled noise from behind her. “How… did you get there?”

Emily smiles tiredly. “That’s a long story.”

Aramis chuckles, regarding Emily with a strange gleam in his eyes. “The one in the Void speaks to you,” he says, grinning widely. “He never lies, yet he does not speak the truth.”

He suddenly lunges for her, and Emily shrieks, instinctively trying to call on her power to teleport her away, only to be left wanting. Aramis grabs her arm, yanking off the black fabric that keeps her Mark concealed, and he smiles. “Yes, there it is,” he whispers. “The Mark. The name. The _power_.”

Theodanis rushes forward to help Emily, but Aramis lets her go as quickly as he snatched her, sitting back down on the piano bench and mashing the keys again as if nothing happened.

“Are you alright?” Theodanis asks, eyes flickering briefly to her exposed Mark before they settle on her face. “I’m sorry. He doesn’t understand the concept of boundaries very well anymore.”

“I’m fine,” Emily says, even if her heart is still pounding in her throat. “He just caught me off guard.”

And she can hardly be angry with Aramis Stilton when all this oxshit is Delilah’s doing.

Emily looks down at the timepiece in her hand, watching with strange fascination as the interior of the room is warped through its lenses, appearing tidy and vibrant rather than the mess it is now.

She holds it up to the light, and by mere chance manages a glimpse of the calendar by the door through the lenses.

The year says 1849.

Emily lowers the contraption, staring open-mouthed at the calendar she sees now, undistorted by the timepiece. It clearly reads 1852.

The Outsider has, quite literally, given her a piece of time itself.

Theodanis, unable to see the Outsider’s gifts, looks uneasy when she smiles broadly. “Empress, are you sure you’re alright?”

Her eyes snap up to meet his, and the determination and excitement reflected in them remind Theodanis strongly of the way Corvo Attano looked before he left for Dunwall. “I’m going to fix everything,” she says triumphantly. “I promise.”

And then she vanishes from sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let them be gay and happy.


	2. II

Getting into Aramis Stilton’s study is damn near impossible.

Its windows are barred, impossible to breach from the outside, and the only door is protected by a combination lock that, at present, is broken beyond repair. It’s no wonder Theodanis never managed to get inside.

Three years ago, the lock is still working, but Emily doesn’t know the combination, and figuring it out is nothing short of a nightmare.

Stilton Manor is beautiful in this timeline, decorated prettily without becoming lavish. It’s an improvement in every way over the run-down mess it’s become – or will become, later. But beauty always has a price, Emily’s learned the hard way over the years. In this case, it means a legion of Grand Guard stationed around the halls, muttering discontentedly about having to babysit the Duke’s spoiled son.

She could’ve snuck past them without a second thought with her powers – become one with the shadows, distract them with a splinter of the Void, link together their fates so that knocking out a solitary guard would take down the whole room at once. Now she only has the timepiece and her instincts, which prove to have dulled considerably since she obtained her supernatural abilities. She’s become far too reliant on her Mark.

But she makes it to the backyard, somehow, her head spinning from the many times she’s been pulled from timeline to timeline. At least there are hardly any people around here, just a trio of guards, a maid cleaning the tables, and there, at the gazebo, Aramis Stilton himself.

He looks vastly different from the man she’s seen in 1852, dressed to the nines with his hair slicked back. He could pass as a noble, if he moved with more grace, didn’t wring his hands together in that manner. He’s like Corvo, Emily realises, trying his best to fit in even though he never asked to be a part of the aristocrats’ circle.

“I should never have agreed to host this event. What was I thinking?” he mutters, running a hand through his red hair. “The things I do for you, Theodanis.”

Aramis Stilton looks nice, like this. Kind, and warm. A good person. Emily doesn’t have to strain her imagination picturing this version of Aramis together with Theodanis Abele, partners in every sense of the word.

“I will fix what you broke, Delilah,” Emily whispers, loading her crossbow with a sleepdart. “I swear it.”

She shoots, and Stilton sways on the spot before collapsing against a pillar, out cold. He won’t be attending Luca Abele’s little séance tonight. She hopes it’ll be enough.

Emily hops down to the gazebo and quickly copies the code to the study from Stilton’s notebook. She’s changed the future by rendering the poor man unconscious, hopefully saving his sanity, but she doubts Stilton’s absence would keep Delilah’s ritual from taking place. She still has to see what the witch did to make herself immortal.

She heads back to the house, leaving Aramis Stilton tucked into the darkest corner of the gazebo, his head resting comfortably on a pillow. Dodging the guards is easier now that she knows their patrol routes, and she makes it to the study without even having to use the timepiece.

What she witnesses is disturbing, especially when Delilah seems to perceive her through the veil of time and space itself, but Emily comes out unharmed, and with the information she came for. She’ll have to infiltrate the Duke’s Grand Palace, which is a monumental task, but if she can pull it off, there’s nothing left standing between her and Delilah. She’ll finally be able to go home.

Emily leaves the study with her mind whirling, and she absentmindedly uses the timepiece to bring her back – or forward – to 1852.

What she sees is astonishing.

Instead of the bloodfly-infested stairway she painstakingly made her way through on the way here, the landing outside the study is positively pristine. The floor looks as though it’s just been waxed, she can hear music coming from below, and there’s a hallway leading into a lovely new office that definitely wasn’t there before, in either timeline.

Emily wanders the halls with wide eyes, unhindered by the servants who simply nod at her as she passes. Considering the gathering of artists on the ground floor, they must believe she’s one of them, the scarf over her face part of her aesthetic. She doesn’t bother to correct them.

In the west wing of the house, just above the dining room, she hears the sound of a piano coming from what, in the past, had been a guest bedroom. It’s a beautiful melody, an old Morleyan folk song she herself has never quite been able to master.

She dares a peep through the keyhole, and is met with the sight of Aramis Stilton playing the piano, large, calloused hands gliding across the keys with grace that would put Shan Yun to shame. Sitting in an armchair close by is Theodanis Abele, reading a book with an utterly content expression on his face. He looks at least a decade younger than when Emily spoke to him before, even though it’s technically the exact same day.

Her lips curl into a smile at the serene sight. She did that. Even if they never know, she’s the reason Aramis Stilton is sane. If nothing else, that is something she can be proud of.

It’s almost a shame she has to intrude. But she’ll need all the help she can get for infiltrating the Grand Palace, and she does need someone to take on the mantle of Duke once Luca Abele is neutralised. Who better than the man who’s served as Serkonos’ Duke for decades?

Emily knocks raptly, cutting off the sound of the piano almost immediately, and then enters without being prompted.

It’s Aramis who rises to greet her, his uncertain smile all politeness. “Excuse me, Miss, but the fundraiser is downstairs.”

“I’m not here for the fundraiser,” Emily says curtly, pulling down her scarf to reveal her face.

Aramis starts at the sight of her, looking back uncertainly at Theodanis. The old Duke wears the same expression he did when she revealed herself to him before: shock, recognition, and respect. He bows before her, Aramis quickly following his lead.

“Empress,” he greets all too familiarly. “To what do we owe the honour?”

If only he could have retained his memories of the first time they did this little dance. But then she cannot have everything. “I’m no more an Empress than you are a Duke,” she repeats herself with a sigh. Despite what she did to change the past, Luca Abele still managed to con his father out of office, Emily knows for certain. If not because Delilah would never allow otherwise, then because Theodanis is here, at Stilton Manor, during office hours, and the bedroom that held little personal items in the past is now obviously being lived in. “I was hoping we might speak candidly.”

Theodanis’ smile is just as genuine as the last time. “Of course. Please, sit.”

Emily sits down on the armchair opposite Theodanis just as Aramis clears his throat. “You’ll want some privacy,” he says, moving towards the door. “I’ll ask Cathy to bring up some tea.”

“Actually,” Emily says, “I’d like you to stay, Mr. Stilton.”

Aramis’ eyebrows knit together in confusion. “I don’t believe I’ll be of much use to you, Your Majesty.”

“On the contrary,” Emily waves away his protest. “Meagan Foster seems to think highly of you, and she has yet to steer me wrong.”

It’s almost funny how immediate the change in Aramis’ posture is, from tense to open in less than a second. “A friend of Meagan’s is a friend of mine,” he proclaims easily, and he sits down next to Theodanis. “Whatever I – whatever we can do for you.”

The two men share the briefest of smiles, an affectionate gesture Emily only picks up on because it is so achingly familiar to her. How often she used to sneak glances at Alexi when she was forced to listen to some noble drone on about a trivial matter, and how often Alexi winked at her, or made a funny face behind someone’s back just to cheer her up. Small things, almost insignificant, but Emily aches for them all the same.

She clears her throat, willing herself to focus. She refuses to lose her father like she lost Alexi. “I am going to break into the Grand Palace,” Emily says bluntly, wasting no time with pleasantries. “The Duke has something I need, and I need him out of the way before I return to Dunwall. I can’t have him send Delilah any reinforcements.”

“Out of the – You aren’t going to kill him?” Theodanis gasps. “Please, I realise he’s been impertinent, but… he’s my _son_.”

His voice breaks, and when Aramis offers him his hand, Theodanis holds on like it’s a lifeline.

Emily shakes her head quickly. “I don’t want to kill anyone,” she says, and that she means. She hasn’t gotten through her ordeal in Karnaca with bloodless hands, but she’s tried her hardest to stay goodhearted, like her mother wanted her to be.

Theodanis sags back into his chair at her words, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Empress.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Emily warns. “I do not want to kill anyone, but if I have no other options, I will. I need a way to remove your son from power without bloodshed, and afterwards, I need someone to take up office.”

Theodanis gets the hint. “You want me to reinstate myself as Duke?”

“Yes,” Emily says simply. “You know how to rule this Isle better than anyone. And from what I’ve seen, the people trust you. They’d be thrilled to have you back.”

Aramis smiles warmly at her, clearly agreeing with her words, but Theodanis looks hesitant. “I am old, Empress,” he sighs wearily. “I don’t know if I can be the ruler Serkonos needs.”

“Of course you can,” Aramis says encouragingly, giving the other man’s hand a gentle squeeze.

Theodanis returns the gesture, smiling softly, but then he sees Emily looking at their intertwined hands, and he remembers himself.

They immediately release one another, Aramis running his hand through his hair, Theodanis clasping his hands tightly together in his lap. “Apologies, Empress.”

Emily almost laughs, because this too is so very familiar to her. “Don’t. I know what it’s like. I had my own redhead back home,” she says, the desire to laugh diminishing rapidly as she thinks of Alexi. “She died, when Delilah took over Dunwall Tower. I loved her, and I miss her, and I wish I had cherished her more. So you don’t get to apologise for being alive, and in love.”

She’s proud of the fact that her voice remains steady, even if she can feel her lip quiver.

Theodanis’ expression is a mixture of pity and awe, and after only a moment’s hesitation, he reaches for Aramis’ hand again, and the other man gives it without complaint.

Emily smiles at the gesture. “You could change the law, you know,” she says softly. “If you became Duke again, you could do away with the Abbey’s nonsensical ban on same-sex relationships.”

She’s tried herself, back home. The proposal was shot down immediately by her parliament, the patrons of the old, rich families not willing to acknowledge the possibility of love between two members of the same gender, even if Emily has seen the majority of them in the arms of another man during Fugue. But Serkonos is different, a place where its ruler has a much stronger say in legislation. If Theodanis wants to, he can make this happen.

A wishful smile tugs at the corners of Theodanis’ lips. “You certainly have a way with words, Empress.”

She doesn’t need to ask, can see the answer in his bright eyes, but she does anyway. “So will you help me?”

“Yes. If Serkonos finds herself in need of a ruler, and her people wish me to, I will reinstate myself as Duke.”

Emily finds herself returning his smile. “You certainly have a way with words, Duke,” she parrots.

“That he does,” Aramis chuckles.

“Well, I must,” Theodanis returns playfully. “How else could I have convinced such a stunning young man to fall for an old codger like me? It was the poems, surely.”

Aramis blushes a fierce scarlet and ducks his head. “Outsider’s eyes, Theo,” he hisses, mortified and pleased at the same time. “You can’t say things like that, we have company!”

Theodanis just laughs and presses a kiss to the back of Aramis’ hand. “I very much doubt the Empress minds.”

“That’s not the point,” Aramis mumbles under his breath, but he cannot quite hide his smile.

And Emily doesn’t mind in the least, but she does know when her company is as useful as a fifth wheel on a carriage. “I should take my leave,” she says briskly, standing before either man can protest. “There is a lot to be done still.”

Theodanis and Aramis rise with her. “I hope you’ll succeed in your endeavour, Your Majesty,” Aramis says sincerely, bowing to her.

“As do I,” Theodanis agrees. The hug he gives her is entirely unexpected, but certainly not unappreciated. “I feel as though I have a great many things to thank you for, Empress.”

If only he knew. “Take care of each other,” she says instead, smiling brightly at the two men, the love she managed to save.

Emily leaves Stilton Manor with her heart lighter than it’s been in a long time, perhaps since the day her mother died. She will fix what Delilah has broken, one piece at a time, and then she will be the glue that holds her Empire together. She will be a better Empress.

For the first time, she actually believes she can be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn but this chapter fought me HARD.


	3. III

**FROM THE DESK OF HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF SERKONOS THEODANIS CADMUS ABELE**

 

_HM The Empress of the Isles, Emily Drexel Lela Kaldwin I,_

 

_Your instructions have been received, and I have taken them to heart. The production of silver in Karnaca has been reduced to ensure safer conditions for those who mine it. I have also submitted a formal request to change Serkonos’ law regarding the issue we discussed during your visit. I am carefully optimistic that my council will see the value of this new legislation, and I may see the results of it in what remains of my life._

_I have remained at Stilton Manor, to be closer to my people, and my love. Luca’s Grand Palace is being refurbished to serve as homes for retired miners and their families. Grand Inventor Hypatia is overseeing the project, with Aramis’ help, to ensure they’ll want for nothing. As for Luca himself, he remains behind bars now that the full extent of his blackmail and extortion has come to light. He will not be released for as long as he lives, but I am grateful that he is indeed alive. Perhaps he’ll be willing to speak to me again, one day._

_In the meantime, to safeguard the future of Serkonos, Aramis and I have adopted a bright young lady whose parents unfortunately passed away while working in the mines. Her name is Ines, and she reminds me strikingly of you; beautiful, fierce, and determined to succeed. She is my daughter by law, and she will inherit this great Isle when I die. It is my hope she, with the guidance of Aramis and the rest of my council, will prove to be a wonderful ruler._

_You have my gratitude and my respect, Empress. I hope you and your father are well. Please pass onto him my warmest regards._

_Yours very truly,_

_HG The Duke of Serkonos, Theodanis Cadmus Abele_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is canon now and you can fight me on that.


End file.
